


Right Down the Line (It's Been You and Me)

by rajkumari905



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-03
Updated: 2011-08-03
Packaged: 2017-10-22 04:06:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/233568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rajkumari905/pseuds/rajkumari905
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>As much as he would like to pretend that this is not happening, there he is, the one person that David never wants to see again.</i> (Broken Up High School Sweethearts AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Right Down the Line (It's Been You and Me)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the movie [Ramona and Beezus](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493949/), of all things. A million thanks to Sara for the beta!

David hums to himself as he walks down the street from the bus stop, headed for the home he grew up in. He lives across town now, of course, but since Claudia's pregnant again, he knows he's going to be pretty much living there until the baby comes.

It's a gorgeous day, and he can't help but smile a little as he walks, enjoying the fresh air. Claudia keeps telling him he should get a car, but he _likes_ using public transportation. It's cheaper and he gets some exercise and he doesn't have to worry about, like, parking and gas. He can put up with some inconvenience for that.

As he nears the house, he waves at the old lady who lives across the street (and has, since he was little) and then, as he arrives at the gate, he sees something he hasn't seen in years.

It's an old beat up truck and... no, it can't be the same one, surely not. But David would recognize the truck parked in the neighbor's driveway _anywhere_ , and no, no, this can't be happening, but there's someone standing behind the truck, and it looks a lot like--

David runs for the door before he can be seen.

He's never been so grateful when he finds the door unlocked and he opens it hurriedly, sliding inside and shutting the door firmly, before leaning heavily against it, his mind still blank with shock.

He might have just stayed there for an hour, but barely a moment later, an excited voice yells, "Uncle David!" and he has to straighten up and put his arms out in time to catch his 7-year-old niece as she flies at him.

"Hey, Selenita," he says and presses a kiss to her dark curls.

"Look, I got two new calluses!" She holds out her hands for David to examine, but he's a little preoccupied and only glances at them briefly.

"Hmm?" David says absently, carrying Selena into the living room so he can look out the window.

"I was watching you from the window," Selena tells him, tugging lightly on David's hair until he refocuses his attention on her. "You were walking all normal and then suddenly you started to run! How come?"

"I..." David starts, and then stops. "I thought I saw someone I haven't seen in a long time," he finishes finally. He puts her down and then moves to peek past the curtain. Selena slides between him and the window and looks too.

And as much as he would like to pretend that this is not happening, there he is, the one person that David never wants to see again.

"Oh, that's Marshall's uncle!" Selena exclaims, and David looks at her sharply, closing the curtain.

"You know him?"

"I met him yesterday, when he got here. He told me his name was David, but I told him he couldn't be David, because we already have an Uncle David," she says proudly.

"What--" David swallows. "What did he say?"

"Um, he said I could call him Cook like you do, and to say hi to you, and to tell you that he would love to catch up."

David scowls and pulls the curtain back again. "Of course he wants to catch up. Of course. Well, if he thinks he can just come back here as if nothing happened and--"

Just then, a car horn sounds, making David jump, and he looks to see--to see _Cook_ , leaning against his truck and looking straight at them and waving with that stupid smug half-smile on his face. David glares and shuts the curtain with a snap, frowning at it even after it's closed.

"Uncle David?" Selena says tentatively, sliding her hand into his. "What's wrong?"

David goes to sit down and pulls her into his lap. "You know how you get calluses on your hands when you spend a lot of time at the jungle gym?" Selena nods and he continues. "When you get a callus on your hand, it's a place where you got hurt, and then your skin got tough to protect it from getting hurt again. Well, I have a callus too, only you can't see it. I have a callus on my heart to protect it from getting hurt again."

*

Cook kissed David for the first time on their second date.

It was kind of anticlimactic, actually. They were in the snack line at the movie theater, of all places. David wasn't prepared at all, but then suddenly, Cook stepped into his space, and his hands came up to frame David's face. David didn't even realize what was happening until Cook was an inch away, and then he got with the program and shut his eyes just as Cook's lips brushed against his.

The kiss was brief and gentle, but it made David sway a little on his feet, because--because it was _Cook_ , and he had just kissed him!

David opened his eyes a second later, and the only thing he could think to say was, "Aren't you supposed to wait until the date is over to do that?"

Cook's hands were still cupping his face carefully, and when he laughed slightly, David could feel them move a little. "Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "I couldn't wait that long. You're too irresistible."

And David just knew that Cook could feel his skin heating up under his palms.

And then, of course, they were suddenly next in line, and the woman at the counter was glaring, as were the people behind them, and they had to hurry to buy their popcorn and sodas before the movie started.

Cook didn't make a move the whole movie, despite the fact that David was acutely aware of his every movement next to him during the entire thing. But he made up for it later, when he was kissing David goodbye on his front porch, still slow and gentle, before vaulting over the railing (just because he thought it was cooler than taking the stairs) and jogging back to his house next door. David stayed outside and watched until Cook looked back from his own porch and blew David a kiss. Then, finally, David went inside and up to his room, and collapsed on his bed, hiding his smile in his pillow.

*

David goes back to Claudia's the next day after work, and of _course_ , the first thing he sees (now that he's looking) is Cook's stupid beat-up truck in the driveway. Of course. Fortunately, today, there is a 7-year-old distraction outside in the front yard who squeals and comes running when she sees him.

After the requisite hugging and examination of calluses, they continue making their way up the street.

"I have a car wash!" Selena informs him. "My sign says 'Selena's Car Wash, Only $5'. Mama helped me make it."

"Wow," David says seriously. "How's business?"

"Not a single person wants their car washed today," Selena says gloomily.

"Aww, that's too bad. If I had a car, I would let you wash it for sure."

Selena brightens. "Really?"

"Definitely."

As they get closer, David sees that not only is Cook's truck still there, but Cook _himself_ is there, leaning against the side of it _again_. David almost stops short and turns around when he sees him, but he knows Cook's seen him by now, and he doesn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"Okay," he says quietly to Selena. "Here's what we're going to do." Selena looks up at him, all big eyes and solemn face, and he continues, "We're going to be confident. We're going to be smooth. We're going to walk, no, _strut_ straight up the walk and into the house, and let him see everything he missed out on. And above all, we are _not_ going to let ourselves be reeled back in like fish, okay?"

"Fish are gross," Selena agrees, and David smiles despite himself.

"Exactly."

"But what if he tries to talk to us?" Selena asks.

"Then we _ignore_ him," David says decisively.

"Okay," Selena nods, and hand in hand, they strut up the street, heads held high.

Everything's fine until they get to the gate, but David is so busy looking anywhere but in Cook's direction that he fails to notice the tennis ball lying on the sidewalk and, because the world hates him or something, he winds up flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him, covered in mulch.

David wants to _die_.

He closes his eyes, praying that things will have magically changed since high school and that it will now be possible to disappear into the ground, and when he opens them, Cook is standing there in front of him, fighting a smile (and losing) and holding a hand out to help him up.

David sighs and allows Cook to pull him up off the ground. Cook's eyes are still as magnetic as ever, and he doesn't let go of David's hand right away, holding it in his as he says, "Hey, Archie. I see you haven't changed much."

David wrenches his hand away and tries to come up with a suitably scathing response, but before he can, Selena pipes up. "We're _ignoring_ you."

David flushes and silently curses his fate.

"Really?" Cook says, turning to Selena. "Why would you want to do that?"

"So we don't get reeled in like fish, because they are gross," Selena says promptly.

David _really_ wants to die.

"I see," Cook says with a grin and an eyebrow-raise aimed at David. "Well I'll do my best not to do that." He pauses. "So it's been a while, Archie."

"Has it?" David says lightly. "I hadn't noticed. Time flies!" He speaks quickly, anxious to get out of there. "Well, Selena and I have to get going now, so you're very nice--I mean, it! _It_ was very nice. To, um. See you again."

David figures that there's no point sticking around here anymore. The situation is irredeemable. He lets himself into the gate, ushering Selena through with him.

"Hey, Archie, wait! We should catch up!" Cook calls after him.

David takes a deep breath and turns around, smiling sweetly. "We just did."

He turns to make his escape, but before he takes two steps, Cook says, "You know... My truck could use a wash."

Selena spins around immediately, running to the car wash sign that's still propped up against a tree. "I have a car wash!"

Oh _no_.

"Wow, awesome!" Cook says, grinning at David when he reluctantly turns around. David scowls at him, but Cook doesn't even blink. "How much for a car wash?"

Selena surveys him for a moment and then slides in front of where the price is listed on the sign. "Twenty bucks!"

"Twenty bucks?" Cook asks incredulously. "No way, that's a steal! I can't let you wash my truck for any less than... fifty."

Selena's eyes go wide. "Fifty _dollars_?"

"Mhmm," Cook says, and David doesn't at all like where this is going. "On one condition. Your Uncle David has to sit with me in the truck while you're washing it so we can catch up."

David knows before Selena even turns around with her pleading eyes and pouty lips that he's lost this round, and he glares at Cook before turning to his niece. "How fast can you wash a car?"

" _Real_ fast," Selena promises as he follows Cook to his truck, shaking his head.

"You look great, Arch," Cook says immediately once the doors are shut and they're alone.

David had kind of been toying with the idea of just sitting there and ignoring him, but that's just awkward and also, rude. There's no reason he can't be civil, he decides, so he smiles faintly and says, "Thanks." He glances sideways at Cook. "You, um. You look good too."

Cook grins at him and _dang it_ , his heart skips in his chest.

"It's trippy being back here," Cook says after a moment, gesturing at their houses. "Brings back all sorts of memories."

"Being in your _car_ brings back all sorts of memories," David says without thinking.

Cook's smile turns a little dirty. "Yeah? Like what?"

He leans in towards David, smirking a little, and David shrinks back a bit, but before Cook gets very close, a loud noise makes them both jump. They turn, and Selena's perched on the hood, glaring at Cook as she sprays a jet of water at the windshield right in front of his face again, a clear warning. David's never loved her more.

Cook backs off, and after a moment, says quietly, "I know what you mean, though. It's like time stood still in here. I wouldn't mind going back." He pauses, glancing at David. "Maybe I could figure out where I messed up."

"It was a long time ago," David says just as quietly, but Cook shakes his head.

"I've missed you, Archie. A lot."

David stares straight ahead unseeing, not trusting himself to answer. He doesn't know what he would say anyway.

Cook continues after a moment when he realizes that David's not going to respond. "I'm going back to LA in a few weeks; then I'll be out of your way. The guys and I--we got a contract with a label. I--this could be it, finally."

David looks up at him, distracted. "Oh my gosh, that's awesome!"

Cook nods enthusiastically. "I can't believe it, it's insane. I can't wait." He pauses. "Do you remember when I used to play you my first ever songs? You were my first supporter. Besides my mom."

David nods shyly, smiling despite himself. "I always loved when you played your guitar."

"How about that song I wrote for you on our anniversary? It made you cry."

David remembers as if it were yesterday, and just thinking about it makes him want to cry again, so he hurriedly changes the subject. "That was pretty sneaky, bribing my niece just to talk to me. Since when are you rich enough to blow fifty dollars on a car wash?"

"Oh, that was a bargain," Cook says, that charming grin that David remembers so well firmly stationed at his lips. He lowers his voice confidentially. "Between the two of us, I was willing to go much higher."

David smiles playfully at him. "I guess times _have_ changed. This from the guy who got me a ring from a gumball machine for my sixteenth birthday."

"Oh, god," Cook says, laughing a little as he hides his face in his hands. "I did, didn't I?"

" _And_ ," David continues, chuckling too, "I had to _lend_ you the quarter. That should have been my first clue. Cheap!"

"Hey! You loved that ring. You wore it for ages."

"All the time," David remembers. He swallows. "Face it, Cook. I always wanted that ring to be real and you always knew it was plastic. That was our relationship in a nutshell."

Before Cook can answer, David says quietly, "I think Selena's done. I'll see you around, Cook."

He slips out of the truck and walks quickly to the house, refusing to look back.

*

After they broke up, everything felt empty. The first night, David lay on his bed for hours, crying and crying and crying, ignoring everyone in his family when they knocked on his door.

Everything reminded him of Cook. How could he move on when the school hallways were the same, their houses were the same, _David_ was the same? It was an ache that didn't go away with time. It was tears that came to his eyes at the stupidest things (like, when a football game came on TV and David remembered that time Cook had tried to explain the rules). And above all, it was an emptiness that felt like it had taken over all of David, until there was nothing else left.

Cook had been part of his life for so long that David didn't know how to deal with his absence. All throughout his life, Cook had been the one constant, the one who was always there, whether it was chasing David on the playground or helping him with his homework or kissing him breathless behind the bushes in the back. How could David cut Cook out of his life when he was _everything_?

And the stupid thing was, the only person David wanted to talk to about any of this, any of the pain or regret or anger, was Cook himself. Cook was the one who'd known him backwards and forwards, inside and out. But now Cook didn't need him anymore, didn't want him anymore. He'd moved on to bigger things, to new places and people that David could never compete with, not in a million years. And David was left behind in the dust, wishing he could go back and change something, anything, to bring Cook back into his life.

He threw himself into school, filling up all of his free time with studying. At least he couldn't think when he was busy memorizing the US presidents and their terms (just in case it ever came up) or doing calculus problem after calculus problem after calculus problem. But at night, he couldn't silence his thoughts, and it was then that he tortured himself by reliving every moment, the hugs and the fights, the first date and the breakup. It was then that the tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, that he lay in bed for hours, unable to sleep, feeling more lonely than he'd ever felt before.

He missed Cook's smile. He missed Cook's arm around him. He missed Cook's stupid smug grin that he hated. He missed the sound of Cook's heartbeat when he rested his head against his chest. He missed the way Cook smelled. He missed Cook's kisses. He missed Cook's voice. He missed everything.

*

"Selena, sweetie. _Please_ come down from there," David begs, looking up at his niece, who's perched on a branch of the oak tree in their backyard with tears streaming down her face.

"No. No no no. Everyone _hates_ me."

"Of course they don't. Everyone knows it was an accident."

"Mama hates me. She yelled at me."

"Oh, Selenita. She's just stressed out, that's all. She didn't mean it."

"She _did_ ," Selena sobs. "I could tell."

"Why don't you come down and I'll make you some hot chocolate, okay? What if you fall and get hurt?"

"No one wants me in that house. I'm just going to live here in the tree."

A new voice comes from just behind David then. "I wouldn't recommend that." David turns to see Cook looking up at Selena. "It's not very comfortable up there if I remember correctly."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Selena scowls at Cook, who isn't phased.

"A little bird told me a pretty lady was crying. What's the matter, honey?"

The question seems to remind Selena that she's upset, and a fresh wave of tears begins to fall immediately. "Mama doesn't love me anymore," she wails. "She loves the new baby in her tummy more than me."

David gapes. "Selena! Why would you think that? Your mama loves both of you the same, and she always will."

"No, she only loves the new baby. She only likes to yell at me, even though I broke the vase on _accident_."

"How about we talk about this down here?" Cook suggests. Selena shakes her head furiously. "No? Well, I guess I'll just have to come up there instead."

"Cook!" David interjects, but Cook ignores him in favor of climbing the old rope ladder which _still_ makes David nervous. It's a remnant of one of Cook's flashes of inspiration from their youth: a treehouse. Unfortunately, they only got as far as a rope ladder before David's fear of heights became an issue, so the idea was scrapped.

"Please don't fall," David says weakly as Cook settles on the branch next to Selena. He tries not to think about the possibility of Cook's weight breaking the branch, sending them both crashing to the ground. He can't hear what Cook's saying to her anymore either, and he watches anxiously as Cook speaks quietly with her, stroking her dark, dark hair. Finally, Selena launches herself at him, and Cook just barely manages to stay balanced as he pulls her into his lap and lets her bury her face in his neck. David's heart clenches a little.

"Are you ready to come down yet?" Cook asks after a moment, speaking louder again so David can hear.

Selena shakes her head without removing it from his neck.

"Aww, but I bet your uncle wants to give you a hug. Don't you want a hug from him? I know I do. He gives great hugs, doesn't he?"

After a moment, Selena nods a little, and Cook says, "So how about we go down now? You don't want him to worry, do you? I can tell he's worried."

"Okay," Selena says in a small voice, and Cook scoops her up and carefully climbs down with Selena still clinging to him. David doesn't relax until they're both firmly on the ground. As soon as he's within reach, Selena reaches out for him, and he gladly scoops her up into his arms, cradling her small body close.

"I'm sorry," Selena mumbles into his shoulder, and David squeezes her tight.

"I know, sweetie. It's okay. But you know your mama loves you, right? We all do."

"Yeah, Cook told me."

David glances at Cook, who's watching them with a small smile on his face. "Good, I'm glad. He's right. Do you want to go back inside now?"

Selena shakes her head, burrowing deeper into his arms. "Can we just stay outside for a little while?"

"Of course we can."

They go to sit down on the bench swing, all three of them, with Selena curled in David's lap. She's asleep in minutes, exhausted by her tears and secure in David's arms.

" _Thank_ you," David says to Cook. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up."

Cook smiles. "You would have figured something out."

"What did you say to her?"

"I just told her about when Andrew was born, and about having a little sibling and stuff."

"Well you were great with her." He smiles at Cook. "Maybe kids bring out your sensitive side."

"Maybe. Or maybe, you do."

*

The night of Cook's senior prom was one of the most memorable of their entire relationship for David. It was bittersweet in a lot of ways, because things were definitely going to be changing after Cook graduated and went off to college. This marked the beginning of a new phase for them, a phase which David couldn't help but worry about, no matter what Cook said to reassure him. He was sixteen, Cook was eighteen; they had their whole lives ahead of them. Who knew what was going to happen in the future, never mind that David couldn't imagine a future without Cook in it.

David was a little nervous beforehand, because he was only a sophomore, but he knew lots of seniors through Cook, so it wasn't that big a deal. David had decided that, since it was Cook's prom, they would do the whole thing--limo and dinner with Cook's friends beforehand, afterparty of Cook's choice afterwards (although, he hastened to add, he would not be having sex with Cook afterwards, never mind what other people were doing. Cook just laughed).

Cook didn't argue for the most part, although he did insist that they go out for dinner, just the two of them, and David didn't protest. On prom day, Cook came to David's doorstep, dressed in his tux, and David came to greet him in his own tux. Lupe and David's sisters fussed over the pair of them until David thought his face would explode with his blush and took enough pictures to fill a photo album. And then, finally, they climbed into Cook's old truck and headed to a fancy Italian restaurant.

The valet gave them a skeptical look when Cook handed him his keys, but Cook ignored him, taking David's hand. Dinner was very romantic and Cook was extra gentlemanly, even pulling David's chair out for him. After they ate (and later, David couldn't even remember what he'd eaten, but he could remember the way Cook smiled at him across the table perfectly), they headed to one of Cook's friends' houses to join the group. There they took even _more_ pictures, much to David's dismay, in all sorts of poses. There was even a candid one that someone had taken of Cook kissing David lightly.

And then, finally, they left. In the limo, everyone was passing around champagne and, though David didn't take any, he didn't say a word when Cook did.

Prom was being held at the banquet hall of a hotel, and they spent a while just looking around and greeting people and helping themselves to food, but eventually, Cook dragged David onto the dance floor despite his half-hearted protests. The fast dances were okay, David decided, but he liked the slow dances best of all, when Cook pulled him close and held him tight and it felt like there was only the two of them in the world. When Cook leaned in to kiss him, David hesitated (he didn't much like PDA) but gave in because it _was_ Cook's night, and anyway, everyone around them was making out too, so David didn't think they would notice.

The rest of the evening passed in a haze, and before David knew it, they were getting back into the limo, on their way back to Cook's friend's house, where the afterparty was going to be.

The party was... well. It was loud and crowded, and it wasn't really David's type of get-together. He would have been severely uncomfortable, but Cook never left his side, holding onto his hand the whole time as he talked and laughed and drank and danced. David hadn't really been around him when he'd been drinking--Cook knew David didn't exactly approve--but he wasn't completely smashed, just a little drunk, which apparently translated to happy and cuddly and affectionate and enthusiastic, none of which David had a problem with.

After a couple hours, Cook pulled David into a corner and kissed him, and suddenly David found himself being pulled upstairs and pressed against the wall in the hallway. The hall was deserted, but David knew that it wouldn't be that way for long. Still, he couldn't find the self-control to protest when Cook pressed up against him and kissed him sweetly. His protests continued to fail to express themselves as their kissing quickly moved from sweet and soft to deep and hard, and finally, it was Cook who pulled back, eyes dark and smoldering, and whispered, "Come on."

He pulled David along the hall, probably looking for an empty bedroom, but David was doubtful about his chances of finding one because he'd noticed a trend of couples disappearing upstairs all night and, well. He wasn't stupid.

To his surprise, though, Cook pulled him directly to a small empty bedroom which looked like its normal resident was an 8-year-old boy--not very romantic. It didn't matter though. When Cook locked the door behind him and turned to David and said, low, "It's ours for the night," David shuddered hard, at the implication, at Cook's voice, at his intent gaze, at everything.

And then Cook flipped off the switch so that the moonlight was the only thing dimly lighting up the room, and before David knew it, Cook was kissing him again and backing him towards the twin bed with its Nascar comforter. Cook shrugged out of his jacket and pushed David's back over his shoulders as well. His boyfriend had long since lost his tie, but David's was the next thing to go, followed by both of their shoes. Then the backs of David's knees hit the edge of the bed, and he fell backwards.

Cook's solid weight on top of him was familiar, though the taste of alcohol on his tongue was a change that David could have done without. Not altogether unprecedented either was the brush of Cook's palm against the skin under his untucked shirt, but tonight it felt new, felt revelatory even. Cook was kissing him like he was trying to tell him a secret, like they had their whole lives ahead of them, like tonight was the first night of forever.

They were quickly approaching that point that they were starting to come to more and more often, where their kisses became messy and desperate, and their hands started wandering a little too much, and their thoughts became muddled with arousal. The point where David always regretfully pulled back and slowed them down. But tonight, as Cook's knee worked its way between David's legs and brushed against the undeniable bulge in his slacks, eliciting a breathy groan, David remembered the long talk he'd had with his parents before being allowed to do this, to spend the night with Cook at a place where there was almost certainly going to be alcohol, and where there would be no adult supervision. He remembered the pleading and persuasion and the promises he'd made to them, and when Cook shifted a little to press his thigh against his trapped erection again, this time deliberately, making David moan helplessly under him, David wondered if he'd lied to them. He wondered if, tonight, for the first time, he and Cook would end up using one of those condoms that Cook's mother had forced them to take when she'd given them "the talk".

The idea was simultaneously terrifying and exciting, and as he tentatively rolled his hips up, unable to stop himself, David wondered if he was ready, wondered if tonight was the night, wondered if sex was as awesome as it was made out to be. The bulk of him hated himself for how much he wanted to know the answer to that question, how much he wanted to just give in and go all the way without looking back.

As he was on the precipice, wavering, wondering which path to take, Cook abruptly broke the kiss, grabbing David into a tight hug. David could feel Cook's bulge against his hip, and his own was throbbing as well. But as Cook stroked his hair and kissed him softly, holding him close and deliberately slowing down the tempo, he felt a wave of relief go through him and realized that he _wasn't_ ready, and more importantly, that Cook had known that all along.

David bit his lip, pressing his face to Cook's neck.

"I love you," he whispered.

Cook responded in kind, pulling him in tighter, and soon enough, they fell asleep together.

*

David isn't entirely sure how he ended up sitting with Cook on the swing again the next night, but despite his reservations, it's nice. The years that have passed notwithstanding, Cook's presence feels familiar, and David can't help but remember that, before he was David's boyfriend, Cook was his best friend. That's not to say that there isn't an undercurrent of more there, because there is, but it's not enough to make David uncomfortable at all. He supposes that, with their history, it's inevitable.

Cook fills him in on what he's been up to. He tells David about his band and how close they are, and about songwriting and recording, and about how it feels to have finished an album that an actual record label thinks is good. David can't help but notice the look in Cook's eyes when he talks about that, about music, and it's proud and amazed and excited, and David feels the same emotions stirring in him as well, just listening to him. There's a maturity about Cook that wasn't there before, a sense of responsibility that he was always lacking in high school. The kindness in his eyes is still the same though, as is the mischief in the quirk of his lips when he catches David staring.

Cook's always been good at telling stories, so it's not surprising to David that he spends the majority of their conversation alternating between giggling and wide-eyed at the things Cook tells him. In return, he tells Cook about getting a degree in teaching and working for a couple years at a local preschool. He rambles about working with little kids and how much he likes it, and he tells a few funny stories of his own, although his mostly involve four-year-olds who say hilarious things. They get sidetracked then, talking about Selena and Cook's nephew Marshall, who, like David and Cook, have grown up together and are fast friends.

That leads them into reminiscing, which makes the atmosphere a little more serious, although both of them are careful to only bring up happy memories. They laugh for a while, remembering all the trouble Cook got David into when they were kids, before they start talking a little about high school, skating around the topic of their breakup.

Then, abruptly, Cook scoots closer and rests his fingers on David's thigh, just for a moment. "I was really immature back then. But I'm older now, and slightly less stupid. And I want to make it up to you, if you'll let me. Can I take you out to dinner?"

David pauses, caught off guard by his sincerity and torn. "Like a date?" he asks cautiously after a moment, just to be sure.

Cook doesn't hesitate. "Yes."

David thinks it over slowly, and if he needs confirmation that Cook's grown up, it's there in the way he waits patiently, not pressuring David for an answer the way he would have in high school. And the thing is, David never could say no to Cook. There's something about him that makes David forget rules and insecurities and caution, something that makes him want to dive headfirst into things.

Moreover, Cook's company is as comfortable and entertaining as it ever was, and he sets David at ease in a way that shouldn't be possible, given that they haven't so much as spoken in years. David can't deny that he still feels drawn to Cook, and that he _wants_ to go on a date with Cook. But at the same time, he can't help but remember the way things ended last time and how long it took him to get over it. He remembers the problems they had, which, looking back, David later realized would have ended things sooner or later anyway. He remembers the pain, and he doesn't know if he wants to take the risk of feeling it again.

"What's going to be different this time?" he asks finally, not looking at Cook.

Cook's touch is gentle on his face as he coaxes David into meeting his gaze. "I'm not eighteen anymore. You're not sixteen. I'm not a freshman in college who has no idea what's going on in the world. I know what's important now, and I know what I want. And I know what I have to do to hold onto those things. We're both older now, and we're different people than we used to be. _Everything_ is different."

"Okay," David says.

"If you want more time to think about it, I totally--" Cook starts, but David shakes his head.

"No," he interrupts. "Okay, I'll go on a date with you."

Cook's smile is breathtaking.

They keep talking for a while, Cook resting his hand on David's arm, and eventually, David realizes just how late it is. When he points out the time, Cook looks surprised too, and David remembers other occasions of talking for hours. The thought makes him smile. Luckily, since it's summer vacation, David spends the night at Claudia's more often than not. Cook walks him to the front door and David feels like a teenager all over again, being dropped off after his first date. In fact, this is almost exactly like their first date, with that awkward moment where they just look at each other and neither of them really knows what to say to the other. Unlike the last time, though, it only lasts a second, because suddenly, Cook's expression changes, and then his hands are at the back of David's neck and the small of David's back, and then Cook is kissing him hard, like nothing ever happened and they _are_ teenagers again.

David is completely shocked and he just stands there for a moment as he processes what's happening. For a moment, he thinks about pushing Cook away, but that's really not even an option, and instead, he melts into Cook, wrapping his arms around his neck as he kisses him back. There's nothing gentle or tentative about this kiss; it's raw with pent-up emotion and nostalgia. It lasts less than a minute, but when David pulls back, he's dizzy with it, and he blinks repeatedly to clear his head. He's still holding onto Cook for balance, and after a moment, he says, "You're supposed to wait until we actually go on the date to do that," and it feels like deja vu.

"Fuck waiting," Cook responds, and kisses him again, briefly. "I've been waiting for years to do that again."

David disentangles himself from Cook and steps back, cheeks flushed, unable to suppress his smile. "Goodnight, Cook."

"Night, Arch."

Claudia, who's had insomnia for the past couple weeks, eyes him knowingly from in front of the television as he walks in, and he just shakes his head at her before heading off to his room.

*

It always happened like this. David came over to Cook's house after school to work on homework, and for a while, mostly due to David's insistence, they actually did homework. But then, well. They got sidetracked.

David didn't even know how they'd gotten into this position. Cook was lying on his bed, flat on his back, and David was on _top_ of him, straddling his waist. One of Cook's hands was fisted in the fabric of the back of David's shirt; the other was in his hair. And while David couldn't exactly recall how they'd gotten here--he was kind of... _occupied_ at the moment--he knew he liked it. He liked the way Cook's eyes got dark when he took the initiative, something he'd only done once or twice before, and he liked that Cook couldn't really move because David was pinning him down, and he liked the control he had when he was kissing Cook from this angle.

David was bracing his weight on one arm, but he lifted the other hand to Cook's face, noting Cook's kiss-swollen lips and wondering if his looked the same. Cook smiled when David trailed his fingers lightly along his cheekbone, turning his head quickly to kiss the inside of David's wrist. David grinned back and leaned in to kiss him again.

Neither of them heard the knock on the door; they were too caught up in each other. And when Cook's mom pushed the door open, they didn't hear that either. It wasn't until she cleared her throat loudly and said, " _Boys_ ," that David suddenly became aware of her presence, much to his horror.

"Oh my _gosh_ ," he said, and shoved himself away from Cook so hard that he lost his balance and tumbled off the bed and onto the floor.

"Am I going to have to institute an open door policy?" Cook's mom asked, failing to hide her amusement.

"It's not like we were having sex," Cook pointed out. He paused and then, with a reproachful glance at the floor where David was still sitting, absolutely mortified and wishing he could disappear, "Archie won't even let me get his shirt off."

Cook's mom laughed. "Good for you, Archie. Dinner will be ready in half an hour. And the door stays open."

She left, and David slumped against the wall, glaring at Cook who was just lying there and laughing. "Oh god," Cook managed. "The look on your face."

"I am never kissing you again," David informed him.

(It only took fifteen minutes for Cook to crumble his resolve.)

*

David's hesitancy comes back by the next evening, when he's had time to think about whether this is really a good idea or not. He's not going to back out or anything, but he thinks it's probably a good idea to just... take things slow. And be a little more cautious. And not let himself fall head over heels for Cook again within a couple days.

By the time Cook rings the doorbell to pick him up, David's had a dozen cautionary pep talks with himself. So when Cook leans in to kiss him on the cheek, David steps back a little, smiling awkwardly to cover the moment. Cook looks a little disappointed and he scrutinizes David for a moment before he nods and leads him to the truck, asking about David's day.

David keeps his hands firmly in his lap so Cook can't grab one as he tells Cook about playing with Selena and helping Claudia pick out baby clothes. Cook seems to realize that David wants to maintain some distance, so he keeps his hands to himself the entire ride, and doesn't even rest his hand on David's back as they walk to the restaurant. David would have thought that Cook would take him to the restaurant they went to on their first date, but instead, they're at a new Thai restaurant which just opened up a couple weeks ago.

It's nicely decorated and David can already smell the awesome food, and he starts to relax as they settle into a booth. Their conversation is light and easy as they wait for their food to arrive. They're still relearning about each other, so there's plenty to talk about.

It isn't until Cook is finished eating and David is contemplating the last couple bites of Pad Thai in his bowl that Cook turns serious.

"David," he says quietly, and that's when David knows that what he has to say is important, because Cook has only called him David a handful of times--the last time when Cook was breaking up with him.

David swallows and forces himself to meet Cook's gaze. Cook reaches out and grabs his hand before he can slip it under the table. He runs his thumb over David's knuckles as he says, "I want you to know something."

David waits a beat and then says, "What?"

"I've regretted what happened for years, especially the way things ended. But whatever happened between us all those years ago, I want you to know that I never really got over you. Hell, half the songs I've written since then are about you. I've always loved you. And I still do."

David stares at him, at a complete loss for something to say.

Cook smiles a little and squeezes his hand, and luckily for David, that's when the waitress comes with the check. The solemnity of the moment is lost as they argue over who's going to pay, but David's heart isn't really in it and he lets Cook win without too much of a fight. He's too busy reeling over what Cook just told him to care much.

A few minutes later, when they're standing outside the car, Cook pulls David into him and wraps his arms tight around him. He whispers against David's hairline, "I mean it, I love you."

David tries and fails to stop Cook's words from affecting him, and he turns his head to kiss Cook.

And yeah, it's pretty much the opposite of slow and cautious, but Cook's words make David feel amazing and he stops worrying about too fast, be careful and just feels, stops worrying about the future and loses himself in the present.

This time, it's David who grabs Cook's hand in the car, and he's so busy just being happy that he doesn't realize they're not going home until they're almost at the park. More specifically, they're almost at their spot at the park.

There's a big park and recreational center near where they live, and David and Cook spent their childhood exploring it and playing in it. Later, when they were together, they'd found a quiet grassy spot by a tree and claimed it as theirs, with a heart and their initials scratched into the tree to prove it (Cook had loved cheesy gestures even then). David hasn't been back there in years.

Cook pulls him to the spot eagerly, his hand firm around David's, and when they finally get there, they just stand for a moment. Then Cook sits down and pulls David down against him and whispers, "Remember when we used to come here?" as if David could possibly be thinking of anything else right now.

David doesn't even bother to answer; he just rests his head on Cook's shoulder and breathes, taking it all in. David never thought he'd be back here, least of all with Cook, like this, and he muses for a moment on how weird life can be sometimes.

He's distracted when Cook turns around to face him and breathes, "I missed you," against David's mouth. David doesn't say anything, but he lets Cook press him back into the grass and kiss him again and again and again.

Later, when they're just lying there, Cook starts to tell him about constellations or something. David isn't listening; he's barely even pretending to listen. He shifts just slightly closer against Cook's side and adjusts his head on Cook's shoulder.

"Sometimes, you just talk to hear yourself talk," he tells Cook, cutting him off mid-sentence, and Cook's indignant reply makes him smile. He closes his eyes and before Cook's even finished protesting, he lets himself drift to sleep, warm and safe and happy.

*

Everything started to fall apart when Cook went to college.

David couldn't adjust to going from seeing Cook every day to seeing him once every few weeks, if he was lucky. He spent hours on Cook's facebook page, looking at picture after picture. Cook at parties with a beer in his hand, Cook dancing, Cook talking, Cook laughing, Cook having fun surrounded by beautiful, cool people who weren't David, who David would never be able to measure up to.

And it wasn't that David thought Cook would cheat on him or anything--he knew that Cook would never do something like that. But he couldn't help but feel like Cook had this exciting new life, and that David wasn't a part of it anymore. He worried that Cook would realize just how lame David actually was, now that he was far away.

It didn't help that when he called to say, "I miss you," Cook only picked up half the time, and when he did, the conversation usually ended up going something like, "Oh, me too, Arch. Listen, I gotta go. The guys and I are going out."

David tried as hard as he could to keep himself in Cook's life. He wanted to show that he was interested in, rather than intimidated by, all of Cook's new experiences, so he made an effort. He asked about everything from the people in Cook's pictures and his friends and his fraternity to Cook's classes and the food and his roommate Neal. But instead of making Cook appreciate how hard he was trying, it just seemed to annoy his boyfriend, who inevitably started snapping back at him until David gave up. Half the time, David hung up after their phone conversations feeling even lonelier than he'd been before.

Even when Cook came to visit, things were different, no matter how hard David tried to be normal. Cook was always happy to see him, at least, but sometimes it seemed like he was more interested in kissing David than talking to him, and David missed the long conversations they used to have. And when they did talk, it always seemed like Cook wasn't interested in what David had to say, as if his opinion wasn't worth anything since he was still in high school.

Everything just got worse and worse until it all crashed down one Saturday when Cook was visiting.

He'd promised to call David when he left school, so David would know when to expect him, but a little while later, when David looked out the window, he saw Cook in his front yard, doing something with his truck. Considering that David had been antsy the entire morning, waiting for Cook to call, he was slightly put off and rushed downstairs.

"Hey," Cook called, looking up from the back of his truck.

"You were supposed to call me," David said as his pace slowed to a walk.

"Oh, I forgot," Cook said off-handly, barely looking up.

"You always forget lately," David couldn't stop himself from saying, and Cook finally met his gaze properly, looking annoyed.

"C'mon, Archie. So I forgot to call you, what's the big deal?"

David bit his lip and swallowed his response. He didn't want to argue with Cook while he was actually in town. Instead, he stepped forward into Cook's arms and tucked his head under Cook's chin, breathing in deeply. "I missed you."

Cook pressed a kiss to the top of David's head, stroking his hair, and said tenderly, "I missed you too."

He tilted David's head up and kissed him softly.

They sat down on David's porch steps, and for a while, it was just like old times. But it wasn't long before things started to get tense.

"So, um. I saw your new profile picture," David said casually.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Who's the girl in it?"

"Oh, that's Carly," Cook said lazily.

"Oh. Is, um. Is she a good friend of yours?"

Cook frowned at him a little. "Yeah, I guess."

David added hurriedly, "I'm only asking because you look close. In, um, in the picture. Since she's all pressed up against you and all."

"What the hell, Archie?" Cook snapped, standing up and crossing his arms. "What's with the third degree? It's like you don't trust me or something."

"No!" David said, scrambling to his feet as well. "Of course I trust you!"

"Well then, lay off. Do you have any idea of how stifling you are with all your questions? It's like you want to know what I'm doing every second."

David was stung, and he swallowed hard. "I'm just trying to be a part of your life," he said quietly.

Instead of calming Cook down, that just seemed to make Cook angrier and his voice escalated. "Goddamn it, Archie. You need to stop. You need to get your own life. You can't just follow me around and rely on me forever. Get over it and grow up."

David was crying now, but Cook didn't seem to notice as he continued to yell. "I'm so fucking sick of your interrogations. It's like, every time I call you want to know everything I've done since the last time we talked. You're so fucking needy and clingy all the time. I need space! I'm just trying to adjust and be a normal college kid, but you're making that impossible. You have no idea what it's like, being the only one in your frat who isn't hooking up with people left and right. Because I have a boyfriend. A fucking high school boyfriend who won't even let me into his pants anyway."

David flinched and watched through his tears as Cook stormed over to his truck and kicked the tire, yelling, "Fuck!" before burying his face in his arms against the window.

He couldn't even breathe, it hurt so much. Cook's words had cut through him like knives, reinforcing all his insecurities. Everything David had dreaded was coming true.

Cook turned around then and looked at David, and his face was full of guilt. "Oh god."

He came forward and reached out for David, who was unresisting as Cook pulled him into him. David sobbed into his chest and he couldn't stop, even when Cook rubbed his back comfortingly and whispered that he was sorry and that he hadn't meant it.

In that moment, David just needed to hear that it would be okay, that they'd get through this, but that wasn't what Cook said.

"This isn't working." David shook his head into Cook's chest, praying that Cook would stop. "It isn't fair to either of us, especially you, Arch. The distance is too much, and it's affecting both of us. I--I haven't been treating you the way you should be treated, I've been taking it out on you, and you keep putting up with my shit, but it's not right. I don't want us to resent each other, and that's what's going to happen if this keeps going like this. You're too important to me for us to end up like that."

Cook took a deep breath, and then continued, "We need to end this before it rips us apart. We're different people now, and we're in different places. But, David," Cook lifted David's face so that he could look him in the eye. "I'll always love you, and I'll always be here when you need me, no matter what, okay? That's not going to change, ever."

Cook kissed his forehead and hugged him tight one more time, and then he gently loosened David's grip on his shirt and stepped back. "I'll--I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

Tears still streaming down his face, David watched as Cook climbed into his truck and drove away and out of David's life.

*

David doesn't know what he's doing. He remembers the way things ended the first time, the things Cook said and did, and the havoc they ended up playing on his mental and emotional well-being.

And yet, here he is sitting in the grass in his backyard on a picnic blanket, letting Cook hold his hand and brush his lips against his cheek and whisper, "I love you," in his ear.

Objectively, he knows this is a bad idea, knows that all those problems that they had the first time are still there, knows that it's just the honeymoon phase of the relationship that makes everything feel so perfect. But knowing all of those things doesn't help. He can't--he can't walk away.

Cook helps him watch Selena the next day, and David is amazed at how good he is with her. The Cook he used to know would never, ever have allowed himself to be coaxed into a tea party, but this Cook agrees cheerfully to everything--even the feather boa--and doesn't even protest when David pulls out his camera. Selena's liked Cook since the tree incident, so she's excited to spend time with both of them. David ends up taking tons of pictures that day: of Selena on Cook's shoulders, of the two of them drawing with crayons, of Cook lifting her up so she can put a basketball in the basket.

Later that evening, they go to a movie theater. They haven't decided yet what they're going to go see, so they take a minute to look at the movie posters at the front of the theater. Cook takes one look at the poster for some new horror movie and says excitedly, "Let's go see that one!"

David, on the other hand, takes one look at the poster and says, "Um, no."

"Come on, Archie," Cook wheedles. "Please?"

"No, Cook."

"But I saw the trailer, and it looks so--"

"Cook," David interrupts firmly. "If you want to go see that movie, go on your own time. We're at the movies together, so we're going to watch something that we both want to watch."

"Aww," Cook pouts, but he doesn't push it, and when they agree on an action movie, David allows himself a moment of satisfaction. He knows that if they'd still been in high school, Cook would have persisted until David gave in. But he's older now, and mild-mannered and soft-spoken though he may be, working with kids has taught him to be assertive when the situation calls for it, a skill he didn't have back then.

They talk a little bit about what went wrong the first time, sitting in the truck waiting for Selena's ballet lesson to finish the next day. What it comes down to, in the end, is that neither of them were mature enough, in different ways. And though they both agree that it was mostly Cook's fault, for the first time, David starts to understand a little bit of the way Cook felt back then.

Regardless, they don't dwell on the past for very long. They don't really talk about the future either. Neither of them even mentions the fact that Cook's leaving in a couple weeks. Instead, they just focus on here and now.

"I like your hair longer like this. It's sexy," Cook whispers against David's throat when they're at the park a couple nights later, tugging on the strands a little for emphasis. David's panting too hard to answer, but Cook keeps going, speaking in a low voice. "You're so gorgeous, Archie, so amazing. God. I was such a fucking idiot to let you go."

He kisses David's already swollen lips hard, greedily swallowing every soft noise David makes into the kiss. He slides his palm onto David's side, under his shirt, which makes David shiver. Soon, as things get more heated, he tries to grind down against him but David pushes him back because, no matter how many things have changed since they were in high school, this is one thing that's stayed the same.

Cook props his body up with his arms and looks down at David, and with the way the moon is illuminating the back of Cook's head, David can't really see his expression. He has just a moment to feel insecure before Cook says, "No? Okay, Arch. Fair enough."

He sounds amused and fond, and he leans in to kiss David again as if nothing happened.

*

There was an observatory not far from where they lived, and it was pretty much a tradition for high school students to break into it and look at the stars. Cook was never one to say no to a challenge, so one night during David's freshman year, despite his many, many misgivings, he found himself bundled up in Cook's truck after curfew.

"Cook, seriously," David protested half-heartedly. "Do you know how much trouble I'm going to be in if my parents realize I'm not in my room? And what if we get arrested?"

"C'mon, Archuleta," Cook grinned at him from the driver's seat. "Live a little."

David sighed and gave up. They both knew that he'd lost when he'd gotten out of bed anyway.

Less than half an hour later, they were parked around the back of the observatory. Looking around, David could see why so many people broke into it. It wasn't exactly difficult. The fence wasn't very high, and once they were on the grounds, it only took Cook about five seconds with the coat hanger to get the door open, which was really kind of ridiculous. David supposed that there wasn't a whole lot of valuable things inside that people could steal anyway--it wasn't like someone was going to take the huge telescope out.

The climbed to the top of the stairs hand in hand, and when they got to the top, Cook opened the door to the observation deck with a little bow. "After you."

David rolled his eyes at him, but went ahead and then stopped short. There was a picnic blanket set up with candles and cake, and it looked totally beautiful.

Cook wrapped his arms around David's waist from behind. "Happy six months anniversary, Arch."

David turned around and wrapped his arms around Cook's neck and kissed him. Cook hummed happily into the kiss as he pulled David closer.

A few minutes later, when they were seated on the blanket and Cook was pouring them both cider from the thermos, David said, "But um. Our six months anniversary was almost a month ago."

Cook scratched at his head sheepishly. "Uh yeah, I know. But you never reminded me, so I forgot. Actually I wouldn't have remembered if Claudia hadn't called and yelled at me."

"Oh my gosh," David said, embarrassed.

"But anyway! This way you were totally surprised and didn't expect it!" Cook grinned.

David giggled and accepted the cider, curling up against Cook's side.

"This is nicer anyway," David said softly. Cook wrapped an arm around him, and together they looked up at the stars.

*

They're sitting on the swing in David's backyard again when Cook finally mentions the fact that he's leaving in a week.

"So I got an email from my manager," Cook tells him, eyes on where his thumb is running over David's hand. "She said my apartment in LA's ready to go."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Cook pauses then, and then looks up to meet David's eyes. "You know, it's definitely big enough for two."

David smiles, "Is it? You'll have to get one of the guys to share with you."

Cook smiles too, but he shakes his head. "I was thinking more a certain preschool teacher who I'm kind of crazy about."

David laughs, but a moment later, when Cook doesn't join in, he stops. "Wait. Are you--are you serious?"

Cook turns to face him and takes David's hand in both of his. "Absolutely serious. Come to LA with me."

David stares at him. "Cook..."

"I love you," Cook says. "I--I don't want to go to LA without you. I want you there with me."

David looks at him searchingly, reading the honesty in his face, and for a moment, he really, really wants to follow Cook to ends of the earth. Then reality wakes him up. "Cook, no, I--"

Cook interrupts him, raising David's hand to his lips. "David, come on, please. Come with me to LA."

David pulls his hand away. "Stop, Cook. You can't, you can't just ask me to leave everything, stop it. Leave everything and follow you around like I'm still in high school and you're the only thing that matters in my life. And then within a month, you're back to--to drinking all the time and, and partying with your band, and you don't need me anymore, and where does that leave me?"

Cook recoils slightly. "I can't believe you have such a low opinion of me. It's been years, Archie."

David stands up, needing to pace, and with his back to Cook, says quietly, "You have no idea what I went through after you broke up with me, how long it took me to get over the things you said."

"Archie, please." Cook stands up too and tries to take David's hand back, but David wrenches it away. Cook winces. "I was--god, Archie, I was a fucking idiot, and I didn't know anything. I never meant it, any of it. I never meant to hurt you. If I could take it back--"

David cuts him off curtly, glaring, "Well you can't."

Now Cook's scowling too. "You know, I've admitted my mistakes and that it was my fault, and I've apologized a dozen times, but you weren't the only one who was hurt. If you recall, it wasn't me who cut off contact back then. You have no idea how many times I tried to apologize, even then. I wanted to make things right, but you didn't even give me a chance."

It's true. Though Cook had promised to always be there for him, it hadn't been possible for David to stay friends with Cook. After the first time when Cook had called David sounding, well, not happy, but at least not as brokenhearted as David was feeling, and David had started to cry and hung up on Cook before he could hear, David had decided that it was too hard. He was so miserable that he shut Cook out. It was too difficult to talk to him, to envision him having fun without David, to hear about him moving on, so David stopped answering phone calls, stopped replying to texts, stopped reading emails, and eventually they stopped coming.

David shakes his head to get rid of the memories. "You keep saying that you didn't know anything about life back when we were together the first time, that you needed to see more of it to figure out what's really important. Well I didn't know anything either! I was too busy being in love with you to see that we are totally incompatible!" He takes a deep breath. "Well guess what, Cook. I've grown up now."

"Yeah, I guess you're too fucking mature to be with someone like me, huh," Cook snaps. "I can't believe you still think I'm not serious about you."

"Words are easy, Cook!" David retorts. "You haven't done anything to prove that you're serious."

"What the fuck do you think asking you to come to LA with me is? If that's not commitment, I don't know what is."

"That's asking me to make a huge commitment, to leave everything--my family, my hometown, my life--on faith. And that's faith that I don't have anymore, not in you."

Cook closes off completely, crossing his arms. "Well I'm sorry to hear that. If I'd known you wouldn't even give me a chance, I wouldn't have come back to find you. Because that's the only reason I came back here."

"Well I don't know what you expected to find, Cook, but I'm not the same lovesick puppy I was in high school, and I'm stronger for it. You're not the center of my world anymore. I'm over it, over you. I've moved on, and you should too."

With that, before the tears that are threatening to close his throat can fall, David goes into the house and slams the door shut, leaving Cook staring after him.

*

It was only a few weeks into David's freshman year that Cook asked him out.

David was humming to himself in the front seat of Cook's truck, thinking about how lucky he was that his best friend was a junior and willing to drive him to and from school so he didn't have to take the bus. School buses were crowded and noisy and generally unpleasant most of the time (they'd gotten substantially more so after Cook had gone to high school and David hadn't been able to sit with him anymore). But Cook's brand new truck was awesome, and David loved spending that extra time with Cook in the morning and afternoon, so they could catch up on each other's days, and trade stories about who was doing what and with whom, and give each other advice about their problems.

That day, though, Cook drove them to a secluded parking lot and parked the car, saying that he needed to talk to David. David listened attentatively as Cook explained that he kind of, sort of, maybe had a thing for one of his good friends, and that he was afraid of spoiling their friendship by telling the person.

Surprised, David tried to figure out who Cook was talking about, thinking back over some of their recent conversations (and if he was the slightest bit jealous, well, no one had to know about it). Though he couldn't figure out who it was, he told Cook that he thought it was better to get his feelings out, and if the person didn't like him back then hopefully, if they were good enough friends, the friendship would survive.

Cook grinned. "You dork. You have no idea that I'm talking about you, do you?"

David blinked at him, his lips parting in surprise. "Me?"

Cook's smile softened, and he reached out to brush his fingertips against David's cheek. David tilted his face up into the caress. "Yeah, you, Arch. I... I guess I've liked you for a while, but I was kind of scared. You know you're my best friend, and I care about you a lot, and I was kind of hoping we could... take it a step further."

Cook looked nervous now, and David realized abruptly that the way he was just staring probably wasn't helping him much.

"Really?" David asked faintly, still a little bit in shock.

"Yes, really," Cook confirmed with a small smile.

"I am definitely not cool enough for you, though," he told Cook, who laughed.

"Says who? I think you're perfect for me."

David blushed a little, and Cook continued. "So what do you say, Archie. Want to give it a whirl? How about we go out this Friday, like a proper date. I'll even come ring your doorbell and meet your parents."

"Um, my parents have known you since you were, like, born."

"I guess that'll make it easier on all of us!" Cook said cheerfully. "So are you avoiding the question or do you have an answer for me? Will you go out on a date with me on Friday?"

Even though David had never exactly thought of Cook that way, at least not explicitly, there was only one answer he could give. He blushed more and nodded shyly, and Cook's face split into a huge grin.

"Great," he said quietly. He leaned in to kiss David on the cheek, making David's stomach flutter, and tangled their fingers together.

David knew at that moment that his life was about to take a huge turn, but as Cook squeezed his hand, he couldn't bring himself to regret it at all.

*

The next couple days pass in a blur of avoiding so much as looking next door and playing with Selena to distract himself. As much as he cried the first time they broke up, David doesn't shed a single tear now (although he doesn't know if it can be called a breakup this time as they were never officially together). When Claudia asks, he just tells her what happened as briefly as possible.

"He asked me to go to LA with him."

Claudia's eyes widen in surprise. "And what did you say?"

David sighs. "I was tempted, I really was, but... It's just like last time, there's no substance there. I have to protect myself this time. If I'm going to uproot my entire existence, I need some sign of commitment. I need to know he's serious. We had a fight, and I said some mean things, and now he's going off in a few days, and I can put this behind me for good."

Claudia hugs him. "Oh Davey. I'm sorry. If I'd known it would just hurt you more, I wouldn't have told him to try again."

David pulls back to gape at her. "You did what?"

"I'm sorry, I thought maybe things would be different somehow. He sounded like he really meant it when he called me. Are you mad at me?"

"No, it's fine. It's for the best anyway. In the long run, I probably saved myself a massive heartache." He pauses. "And replaced it with a smaller one."

Claudia hugs him again, and then Selena appears and climbs into his lap, pronouncing Cook a 'big meanie', and David knows he made the right choice. How can he leave his family for a pipe dream?

Later that afternoon, while Claudia is taking a nap, he takes Selena out into the garden, to play (Selena) and pull weeds (David).

"Selena, can you bring me the hose, please?" he calls, noticing that some of the flowerbeds are looking a little dry.

"Okay!" Selena answers cheerfully.

David hums quietly to himself as he waits for her to bring it, but a moment later, he hears a blast of water and an "Oops!"

He scrambles to his feet and runs toward where Selena is struggling to control the hose, which is on its highest setting. An arc of water goes over the fence, and David hears, "What the hell--"

Just as David manages to wrestle the hose away from her and turn it off, Cook's head appears over the fence, dripping wet. "Oh, real mature, Archie," he glares. "I can totally see why you think I am immature."

Before David can dignify that with a response, Cook stalks off, and David sighs. "Selenita, why don't you go inside and change? You're all wet."

Selena nods and heads for the door. Before she gets there, though, David is suddenly drenched. "Oh my--"

He whirls around to see Cook hanging over the fence with a smirk, bucket in hand. "Now, who's immature, huh Arch?"

"Selena," David grits out. "Go inside. Now."

"Oh, I'm scared n--," Cook starts to say mockingly, but David doesn't give him a chance to finish. He squeezes the handle of the hose he's still holding, turning it on, and aims at Cook's face.

Cook swears and ducks behind the fence.

David runs up to his side of the fence and sends a stream of water to follow Cook as he retreats. He can't help but giggle at Cook swearing and scrambling to get away from the water.

"Yeah, laugh it up, Archuleta," Cook yells from behind the tree.

"I am," David yells back.

Cook charges him, using the bucket to block the hose's spray. When he gets there he throws the contents of the bucket at David, using the distraction to go through the gate so that they're on the same side of the fence. Soon enough, though, he's forced to retreat back through the gate, since the bucket actually isn't that effective of a shield, particularly in close quarters.

Instead, he makes a break for the side of the house, ducking behind the wall where David can neither see him nor spray water at him. David wonders briefly if Cook's given up, but that doesn't seem like him. He's probably just trying to come up with a new strategy or trying to find a hose of his own. He holds his hose at the ready as he squints over the fence at the edge of the house, ready to spray Cook as soon as he emerges from his hiding spot.

Bored of waiting for Cook to appear on his own, he decides to leave the safety of the fence and take the battle to him. He goes through the gate cautiously, tugging the hose along with him, with his senses attuned to the corner behind which Cook disappeared. As such, he's not expecting it at all when Cook suddenly grabs him from behind, snatching the hose from his grasp.

"Gotcha!"

David struggles, but Cook's got him in a firm grip around the chest, and in moments he's got the hose directed back at David, drenching him thoroughly. David sputters and tries to defend himself, but Cook just gloats, "That's right, who's laughing now!"

They're both laughing a little, actually. David tries to take back the hose, but Cook's grip on it is too firm and David's slick fingers can't get a hold of it. So he opts for a new strategy and leans back into Cook. He slides his leg behind Cook--a little trick he learned in self-defense class--and shoves Cook backwards. Cook trips over his outstretched leg and winds up flat on his back in the mud.

"Ha!" David crows, and takes advantage of Cook's surprise to take the hose back from him. Before Cook can get up, David climbs on top of him, pinning him down as he aims the hose directly at him.

"Okay, okay, I give up!" Cook gasps after only a few moments of the direct onslaught at close quarters, using his hand to block the water. "I surrender! You win."

David turns the hose off triumphantly, still laughing. Cook's laughing too, his breath coming in giant pants and water dripping down his neck and into his hair. Then, suddenly he reaches out, twisting his hand in David's sopping shirt, and yanks him down to kiss him hard before David can even think to protest.

It should be cold since there's a slight breeze and they're dripping wet, but there's a slow-burning heat inside him as he twists his fingers into Cook's wet hair and kisses back. The heat spreads until David thinks it's going to consume him completely, especially when Cook's fingers on one hand stroke along the chill-bumped skin of his side.

Without breaking the kiss for more than a second, Cook manages to sit up, so that David's straddling his lap.

With his hand wrapped around David's neck, cradling his face, Cook pulls back to whisper, "I love you. Whatever it takes to prove it to you, I don't care, I'll do it. Tell me what you want me to do." He brushes his fingers against David's cheek. "What do you want, David?"

Cook is looking at him like he holds the key to the universe, like there's only just the two of them and nothing else matters.

David swallows. "I want..." he says slowly. "I want to know that this isn't going to end like last time. I want to know that you mean forever, that you're not going to lose interest again in a couple months. I--I want to know that I mean something to you, something significant."

Cook presses his forehead against David's. "God, Arch. Of course you mean something to me, you mean everything to me. And you always have, even before. I know I hurt you, and I am so sorry for that, and I always will be. But you have to know that even then, you meant so much to me. I wish I could--the treehouse!"

David blinks. "What?"

Cook's beaming and he nudges David back so he can stand up. "I told myself that when I was ready, I would find it!"

David can make neither head nor tail of this, and he stumbles along as Cook drags him to the tree in David's yard by the hand, so excited that he's bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"It's up here!" Cook explains, and starts to climb the rope ladder.

"Please don't fall," David frets, eyeing the water and mud on Cook's shoes. Soon enough, Cook's standing on the branch and reaching into a large hole in the tree, and he emerges triumphantly with a plastic bag clenched in his fist.

He brings it down and pulls an old shoebox from the bag. He hands it to David. "Here."

"What is it?" David asks.

Cook smiles. "Open it."

So David does, and what he sees makes his jaw drop. All of their old stuff is in here, the remnants of a high school romance: notes they left in each other's lockers, movie ticket stubs, photobooth pictures from the mall, a mix CD David had made Cook so many years ago, their prom tickets and the dried, disintegrated remains of the white rose Cook had given him that night.

David feels his throat closing. "You kept all this stuff?"

"I couldn't get rid of it, no matter how hurt I was and how much I wanted to move on. I just couldn't."

David pushes some things aside, revealing yet more treasures: messages written on napkins, a few scattered polaroids, concert tickets, birthday cards. And finally, at the very bottom of the box, David finds the tacky plastic ring that Cook gave him for his sixteenth birthday.

His fingers close on the piece of plastic that used to be so dear to him. "I--I threw this away! I never thought I'd see it again. How did you..."

"Claudia gave it to me," Cook explains, and David shakes his head. Apparently Claudia has done a lot over the years. "She thought maybe I'd want to keep it, and I did. Maybe I always knew it would come in handy."

Cook reaches out and plucks the ring from David's grasp. He smiles at David as he drops to one knee. David's eyes widen, and he gapes as Cook takes the box from his hands, setting it on the ground so that he can hold David's left hand in his own. "I've been all over the place, and I've done a lot of amazing things. But one thing's always been missing from my life, and that's you. I've made a lot of mistakes, and I have a lot of regrets. But I don't regret anything more than letting new things come between us. And now that I'm here again with you, I know that I'm ready for forever in a way that I wasn't back then. I don't want to go another day without you in my life."

And, okay. This isn't romantic at all. The ring is plastic, for one, and they're both dripping wet, and Cook is covered with mud. But David can't help but gasp and tear up and whisper, "Oh my--"

"Will you marry me?"

David can't find the words to speak, so finally he just nods shakily. He watches through his tears as Cook slides the old plastic ring onto his finger, and then Cook stands up to take David into his arms and kiss him. David wraps his arms around Cook's neck and suddenly, he can't stop smiling, which is interfering a little with his kissing ability, but it's okay because Cook is having the same problem. Instead, David buries his face into Cook's shoulder, loving the way Cook's arms are wrapped tight around him as if he's never going to let go.

"And I still owe you that quarter," Cook murmurs into David's hair.

*

One night during David's sophomore year, they were curled up together on David's bed, tired from the bonfire which had taken place earlier that evening. There were only a few minutes until the time when Cook had to be out of the house, according to David's parents' rules, so they were trying to make the most of it, lying with David's back pressed to Cook's chest. It was that night that Cook whispered into David's ear for the first time, "I love you."

In that moment, David believed they would last forever.

*

They throw a wedding together in four days. They book David's church for the next Saturday and get Cook's bandmates to fly in from LA. Other than that, it's mostly their families and local friends. It's a small ceremony, put together at the last minute, but David can't imagine anything more perfect.

Selena looks lovely in her flower girl dress, and Claudia looks radiant with her swollen stomach. But no one looks better than Cook, who takes David's breath away, dressed all in white.

They say their vows, hand in hand, and it's not until Cook's reaching for the ring that David realizes--

"That's not--that's a real ring!"

Cook grins. "Did you really think Claudia would let me marry you with a plastic ring?"

David giggles a little, staring at the gorgeous ring that Cook is slipping on his finger and slides his own wedding band onto Cook's finger, and then the priest is saying, "You may now--" and before he can even finish, Cook closes the distance between them and kisses him and kisses him and kisses him. And David doesn't even care that there are a bunch of people watching, because Cook is holding him tight and they're finally married, this is real, and he's so happy.

They keep kissing, ignoring the catcalling and the shouts of "About time!" from the audience, until David vaguely hears Selena and Marshall going, "Ewwwwwwww," and "Are they ever going to stop?" and "Where do they put their noses?"

He grins and pulls back, finally, and opens his arms for Selena.

"I love you, Uncle David," Selena says to him with her arms around his neck, the bow in her hair already lopsided, "Even if you are a big fish."

David is about to say, 'Um, what?' before he remembers the conversation they had way back when Cook first came back here.

"Don't hold it against him," Cook puts in with a smug grin, resting his hand on David's back. "I'm just too awesome of a fisherman. He didn't stand a chance." Cook smirks suddenly. "Hey, Arch--"

David rolls his eyes, putting Selena back on the floor, "Don't even, Cook."

"Aww," Cook pouts, "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"I'm guessing it had something to do with your fishing rod. Am I right?"

Cook nods sheepishly, and David shakes his head. "There are children present, Cook!" he admonishes.

"Yeah," Cook breathes against the skin of his neck, pulling David close. "I guess I'll have to save that for tonight, when it's just you and me, alone."

David shudders a little and Cook smirks again.

Oblivious, Selena asks loudly, "Can we have cake now?"

Without looking away from Cook, David says absently, "Yeah, of course."

"Later," Cook whispers, and David nods.

"I love you," Cook adds, his eyes shining, and David leans up to brush his lips chastely against Cook's one more time.

"I love you too," he smiles, and with the way Cook is looking at him, with absolute adoration and a little bit of awe, he's almost tempted to skip the reception so they can be alone.

Instead, he entwines their fingers together and starts to head outside where the reception is being held. After all, tomorrow they leave for LA, for the beginning of a new life together. They have all the time in the world.


End file.
